Emergency response, incident reporting and safety
Domain 9 - Emergency response and incident reporting. The exam tests what you do when something goes wrong, which reference you use, and which events must be reported to whom.
Response tools
- The emergency response drill code printed in the Dangerous Goods List row links to the ICAO Emergency Response Guidance for Aircraft Incidents Involving Dangerous Goods, which gives drill letters for fire, spillage and leakage and a table of dangerous goods by drill code.
- Ground staff use the operator's spill procedures and emergency response information, plus personal protective equipment and spill kits.
- Flight crew use the drill code for the specific entry, not for the hazard label.
Reporting
- A dangerous goods accident causes fatal or serious injury or major property damage; a dangerous goods incident covers leakage, spillage, damaged packaging, contamination, undeclared or misdeclared goods, and failures of packaging integrity.
- Incidents as well as accidents must be reported; reporting goes to the State of the Operator and the State of Occurrence, and IATA expects the Dangerous Goods Incident Report to be raised promptly, within 72 hours of the event.
Worked example
During unloading, a carton of UN 1789, Hydrochloric acid, Class 8, PG II, is found wet and fuming. Actions in order: stop handling, isolate the package, put on suitable PPE, apply the response guidance for that drill code, check adjacent cargo for contamination, notify the operator's duty manager, remove the package from the aircraft, and raise an incident report covering the damaged packaging and the leakage, even though nobody was injured. Continuing the flight would be a reportable failure in itself.
Traps that cost marks
- Reporting only accidents and ignoring leaks and undeclared goods.
- Using the label class to choose a drill code rather than the List row.
- Sending a leaking package onward after repacking it informally.
- Failing to check neighbouring cargo and the aircraft hold for contamination.